Despite the challenges faced by many autistic individuals, including those regarding social communication and sensory issues, the genius abilities found in savants indicate strengths rather than deficits. This essay will explore the facets that distinguish savant syndrome in autism, evaluating different aetiological explanations for it. Research into this field is needed for scientists to further discover what distinguishes these savants from other autistic individuals and humans in general, which could lead to a more complex understanding of human cognition.
Savant syndrome is characterised by extraordinary, remarkable abilities in individuals. While commonly associated with autistic individuals, it is estimated that 50% of savant syndrome cases occur within the autistic population, with the other 50% seen in those with developmental disabilities and Central Nervous System injuries (Treffert, 2009). Within the autistic population, incidence levels can be up to 37% (Howlin et al., 2009), yet it is more common for savants to have autism than not.
Autistic Savants and Autism. (Image from www.autism-help.org)
Unique skills that these savants possess include heightened memorisation abilities, rapid calculations, calendar calculations and predictions, musical abilities, and artistic abilities. These skills are presented in a ‘spectrum’ of proficiency; ‘splinter skills’ relate to the incessant memorisation of information and numbers, ‘talented savants’ have distinct skills in one area (such as music) that are distinguishable from their ordinary level of functioning, and ‘prodigious savants’ have exceptional skills that would be uncommon even in a non-autistic population (Treffert, 2009). For example, Sacks (1987) reported one case of 26-year-old autistic savant twins who were incapable of performing mental arithmetic yet could ‘envision’ and list prime numbers up to 10 digits long.
Cognitive theories have attempted to explain how savant skills develop in autistic individuals. One relates to the theory of mind-blindness – autistic individuals often struggle with perspective-taking (Baron-Cohen et al., 2000) and thus the cognitive resources neurotypical people would devote to this are reallocated to hyper-fixations on certain, progressively honed skills. Such over-rehearsal of skills can lead to obsessive traits, which manifest in different forms of careful, methodological behaviours. Research investigating this determined that autistic savants have higher obsessional traits than non-autistic savants (Simner et al., 2009), supporting this theory and suggesting that autistic individuals may be disposed towards higher levels of accuracy. In addition, Hughes et al. (2018), comparing autistic savants, autistic non-savants and non-autistic/non-savant controls on several dimensions, found that autistic individuals scored highest on the dimensions of ‘need for organisation’, ‘systemising’ and ‘local bias’ (preference for fine detail over holism). Savants scored even higher on obsessive behaviour, sensitivity, and systemising than the other two groups, reinforcing the theory that autistic obsessions are enhanced in savants. The growing body of research into this explanation poses it as possibly quite a credible one.
Another cognitive theory links to the role of intelligence in autistic savant syndrome. A point of interest for researchers lies in the dissonance between the low IQ seen in much of the autistic population (Wolff et al., 2022) and the high-level abilities displayed by autistic savants. Anderson’s (1992) theory of the minimal cognitive architecture initially suggested that intelligence was linked to the operation of a basic processing mechanism (BPM) which in turn governs one’s skill set, yet the very existence of autistic savants questions the model through failing to explain how these individuals can achieve such high skill-based outcomes with a deficit intelligence-based BPM. Thus, a newer model has combined the role of this theory and Detterman et al.’s (1992), who proposed that intelligence is the result of several different inputs that act independently, not simply pinned to one factor such as the BPM. This model suggests that savant skills reflect individual differences and can, indeed, exist with low general intelligence. Given that even this revised model was devised over thirty years ago (Nettelbeck & Young, 1999), it may still need to be reviewed, especially since the diagnosis of autism (and possibly identification of savants) has dramatically increased since 1990 (Russell et al., 2021).
These cognitive theories are accompanied by biological explanations for savant abilities. The left anterior temporal lobe is one region thought to be involved in the development of savant skills in both autistic and non-autistic individuals; even in healthy individuals, inhibition of this area can produce savant-level skills. This aligns with research that suggests autistic individuals, including savants, may have an underactive left hemisphere that is balanced by excessive right-hemisphere activity. Neuroscientist Snyder (2009) hence believes that all individuals possess the capacity for extraordinary skills, yet these remain dormant for most due to refined top-down processes (through full brain connectivity) which enable most to globally examine the bigger picture. Left-brain inhibition can also explain why more males than females are diagnosed with the syndrome at birth – excessive testosterone can affect the development of the vulnerable left hemisphere in a male foetus, leading to a right-hemisphere favouritism typical of both autistic and autistic savant individuals (Geschwind & Galaburda, 1987).
In conclusion, researchers are still attempting to uncover the mechanisms behind the behaviour and characteristics of autistic savants. Enigmatic cases such as that of Nadia, a girl whose savant abilities ‘disappeared’ when entering the traditional schooling route (Selfe, 1978), are still being studied. For now, the rarity and complexity of these cases have led some researchers to take a case-specific approach, as some theories may be more applicable to certain patients than others. Future research could hopefully take a more definitive view on this and form more generalisable theories.
References
Anderson, M. (1992). Intelligence and development: A cognitive theory. Oxford: Blackwell.
Baron-Cohen, S. (2000). Theory of mind and autism: A 15-year review. In S., Baron-Cohen,H., Tager-Flusberg,D. J., Detterman, D. K. (1982). Does g exist? Intelligence, 6. 99-108.
Geschwind, N., & Galaburda, A. M. (1987). Cerebral lateralisation. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Howlin, P., Goode, S., Hutton, J., & Rutter, M. (2009). Savant skills in autism: psychometric approaches and parental reports. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 364(1522), 1359–1367.
Hughes, J.E.A., Ward, J., Gruffydd, E., Baron-Cohen, S., Smith, P., Allison, C. and Simner, J. (2018). Savant syndrome has a distinct psychological profile in autism. Molecular Autism, 9(1).
Nettelbeck, T., & Young, R. (1999). Savant syndrome. In L. M. Glidden (Ed.), International review of research in mental retardation, Vol. 22, pp. (137–173). Academic Press.
Russell, G., Stapley, S., Newlove‐Delgado, T., Salmon, A., White, R., Warren, F., Pearson, A., & Ford, T. (2021). Time trends in autism diagnosis over 20 years: a UK population‐based cohort study. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 63(6).
Sacks, O. (1987). The man who mistook his wife for a hat. Picador.
Selfe, L. (1977). Nadia: A case of extraordinary drawing ability in an autistic child.
Simner, J., Harrold, J., Creed, H., Monro, L., & Foulkes, L. (2008). Early detection of markers for synaesthesia in childhood populations. Brain, 132(1), 57–64.
Snyder, A. (2009). Explaining and inducing savant skills: privileged access to lower level, less-processed information. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 364(1522), 1399–1405.
Treffert, D.A. (2009). The savant syndrome: an extraordinary condition. A synopsis: past, present, future. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 364(1522), pp.1351-1357.
Wolff, N., Stroth, S., Kamp-Becker, I., Roepke, S. and Roessner, V. (2022). Autism Spectrum Disorder and IQ – A Complex Interplay. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 13.
